Friday, March 4, 2011

Tropical Popsicles: Lean, Green and Clean Eating

Smoothies are magical: just throw a bunch of healthy stuff in a blender and out comes something delicious. They are also super versatile. You can enjoy them for breakfast, post-workout, or for dessert; freeze them in popsicle molds for a healthful kiddie snack or as an energy-boosting treat during labor.

Make sure you use BPA-free pop molds

This is one of my favorite smoothie recipes. It gives a hint of warm weather and vacation, even in the dead of winter. It's flexible, too. Make it vegan or sweeter or greener - whatever works for you.

It's also a great way to incorporate raw greens into your (or your finicky toddler's) diet. As you know, we're not fans of "deceiving" kids into eating healthy foods. But there is something to be said for simply incorporating veggies and fruits into all the foods you make, whether you have children or not. My son helps me put all these ingredients in the blender - yes, even the raw spinach; he knows it's in there. Would he eat a plate of spinach? Not a chance. Does he happily consume this? Damn skippy he does!

Ingredients:

1c pineapple chunks (fresh or frozen)

1c mango chunks (fresh or frozen)

1c kefir (or yogurt or the plantmilk of your choice - coconut milk would be great)

1c mango or pineapple juice (100% fruit juice) or coconut water

2c (packed) baby spinach leaves

Puree until all the ingredients are combined and the mixture is smooth. It yields about 32 ounces. We drank some for breakfast...

...and used some to make popsicles:

They made for an especially popular playdate treat!

You can also put some in a reusable, BPA-free, to-go cup and sip on this smoothie while you're at work. Much better than diving into those stale cookies from yesterday's board meeting!

Ok, so I was finally able to go grocery shopping again, and I bought the stuff for the pink grapefruit and avocado salad. I made it yesterday, with a couple changes to the dressing (apple cider vinegar instead of the red wine vinegar and a little more honey than it called for) and well... I'm eating it again right now. :o) it was SO incredibly delicious! In fact, for once I'm thankful that my husband doesn't like avocados because now I don't have to share this salad with him. hehehe! ;o)

This smoothie looks really good too! We're really into smoothies around here, usually have them for breakfast. I'll have to give this recipe a try. I especially like the idea of freezing them for an energy booster in labor. I'll have to tuck that one away for when my turn comes around again in September! Last time, my dr gave me a popsicle right towards the end of my labor, and even through the pain, all I could think of as I was eating it was how unhealthy it was! haha i think this will be a much better option. :o)

anyways, love the blog. I'll definitely be sticking around to see what else you guys come up with, such fun stuff! :o)

Kassandra - I'm so happy you enjoyed the salad. My hubby doesn't like avocado, either, so i get to hog it all to myself, too! Glad you're enjoying the blog and learning some new strategies! BTW, if you're on Facebook, we have a page there - you can "like" us and you won't miss any new tips or recipes...

Fun stuff! I tried something similar the other day only with water at the base and some kiwi and frozen peaches! Good Stuff! I like your description cause I also thought it tasted like a warm summer day!

Thanks! I don't have one of those super fancy blenders. Mine's a Cuisinart blender (that has a nifty small food processor attachment - I never haul out the big food processor!): http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-BFP-703CH-SmartPower-Blender-Processor/dp/B00004WKI7

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